It is likely Mr Chua was bashed in the face with a hammer or a wooden object, he said, adding the victim's face could have been stamped on.

Prof Lau said he could not rule out the possibility that Mr Chua's injuries were caused by punches, but added the assailant would have to be an exceptional martial arts expert because he doubted ordinary fist blows could have caused such fractures.

PROFUSE BLEEDING

The forensic pathologist was not able to determine the number of blows landed on Mr Chua's face as the body was too badly decomposed.

Prof Lau, however, said there was more than one blow.

Such fractures to the nasal and jaw areas could cause very profuse bleeding, he said.

It could also cause the facial bones to collapse and affect the victim's upper airway, he said.

Other than the blunt force trauma to the facial bones, which Prof Lau concluded was the cause of death, Mr Chua's other injuries included an extensive loss of scalp and five fractured ribs.

ON TRIAL: Chia Kee Chen is on trial for the murder of Mr Dexmon Chua (above), whose body was found in the Lim Chu Kang military training area. PHOTOS: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS

Mr Chua was dead for about three to four days by the time his body his found, said Prof Lau.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Eugene Leeasked Prof Lau why the victim's head was found to be significantly more blackened than the rest of his body.

The forensic pathologist said that could have been due to the numerous open wounds on the face.

Prof Lau also said that Mr Chua was unlikely to have been assaulted at the Lim Chu Kang live firing area - where his body was found - as there was not much disturbance to nearby vegetation.

The trial continues on Tuesday.

If convicted of murder, Chia could face the death penalty or life imprisonment.

About the case

Chia and an accomplice, Febri Irwansyah Djatmiko, 33, an Indonesian who is still at large, allegedly forced Mr Chua into a borrowed van and assaulted him until he died.

Another accomplice, Chua Leong Aik, 67, a cleaning supervisor, drove them to Lim Chu Kang, near the area where Mr Chua's body was found.

On Tuesday, the court heard that Chia's wife, Madam Serene Goh, now 51, had told the police that her year-long affair with Mr Chua began after he started taking her home in his car from their workplace.

They later became intimate and had sex in his car, at his home and once in a hotel. Mr Chua even filmed their trysts, she said.

On Wednesday, Chua, who is serving a five-year jail term for abduction and voluntarily causing grievous hurt, testified that he did not know what he was getting into when he got into a van with Chia on Dec 28.